tap

tap

knocking softly, let me in

leaves unlearning the cold,

old cold loosening as moult

dress rags falling

warmth, faint,

seeps into layers of song,

nets flung and falling

the rain – a wealth of it

a thousand tiny feet, or

beats,

points of impact opening

seeds, seed-heads,

germ notes

deliberate I draw

sleeves of light over beech,

old burrs young,

– ears prink,

sun just warm enough to wake a hog –

hear my wagtail,

bending and dipping, sweet fulcrum –

all my minnow fry

crows, larking,

high mud banks I'll lick

all of me cloaked in green

spreads across the earth

beetles mealing away

mycelium threading

moles marrowing my veins

river stirs and beds her curves to mine

catching light and young leaves,

damp violet,

quiet ash keys